It’s so sad to lose a fighter like Targan, who passed away in April. He was an Aboriginal elder, an actor and an incredible artist. He will always be remembered as a fighter for a better world.

He used his art to tell stories of injustice – highlighting the genocide of Aboriginal people and opposing uranium mining, among other things. One of my favourite pieces was a painting opposing the racist bigot Pauline Hanson.

I first met Targan in my early 20s, when we were both studying at the Victorian College of the Arts. I hadn’t met anyone like him before. He was loud with a personality that was larger than life. He was always angry at one or another injustice – be it someone being discriminated against locally or world issues such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He wasn’t just angry; he put his anger to good use as an activist. He didn’t have time for bullshit, but at the same time had a heart of gold. He was always prepared to stand up for the underdog and to treat racists, homophobes and the rich with the contempt they deserved.

Targan was the Indigenous officer at the VCA student union for a few years and was an inspiration to everyone there. He had the ability to convince people who were indifferent to be campaigners against injustice.

He was heavily involved in the Black GST (Genocide to stop, Sovereignty to be restored, Treaty to be made), a campaign to highlight stolen wealth, wages and heritage, and Camp Sovereignty – a protest organised by Indigenous campaigners and supporters against the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. The event was aptly derided as the Stolenwealth Games.

Targan set up Camp Sovereignty at Kings Domain, which is a sacred burial site. Despite being warned that, under special Games laws, people protesting or causing disturbance in “Games management zones” would be arrested and fined, Targan called their bluff.

He and others continued Camp Sovereignty and even organised trade union groups to set up some infrastructure in an act of defiance. Nobody was arrested or fined.

In a world where there is so much injustice, where racism still destroys people’s lives, it took guts to take a stand. He will be missed. But in his spirit we will fight on.